The University of South Carolina Beaufort softball team fielded Katie Rietkovich at second base and Chelsey Blasingame at shortstop Saturday in the first-ever game for the Lady Sand Sharks.

Their fathers – Ty Rietkovich and Dominique Blasingame – were in the same football lineup for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks in 1983.

Ty was on the field at the Richard Gray Sports Complex for Saturday’s game. He’s the USCB head softball coach and athletic director.

Dom Blasingame was in the stands, bundled up against the chill wind in the piney woods of Hardeeville. He came from Irmo to watch his daughter’s college softball debut.

“It’s been 29 years since the last time a Blassingame and a Rietkovich were in the same lineup,” Ty said.

“My Dad told me, so I knew about it,” Katie said after the doubleheader. “It’s kind of cool, us getting to play together too.”

Chelsey said Ty often makes obscure references about her Dad.“I think they’ve got a lot of inside jokes,” she said. “He always says, ‘You’re just like your father.’”

On a day of firsts for the newly organized Lady Sand Sharks, the Blasingame and Rietkovich names quickly entered the USCB record book: Katie recorded the first home run in program history; Chelsey hit the first triple.

Ty and Dom signed with South Carolina while Jim Carlen was the head coach, then played for Richard Bell and ended their college careers in Joe Morrison’s first year with the Gamecocks.

“It was a good group; and we started the Joe Morrison era,” Ty said. “Dom kept playing. He had a longer career than I did.”

Ty was a tight end; Dom was a running back who later moved to tight end as well and flirted briefly with a professional football career.

“I signed with the New York Giants as a free agent and made it to the last cut. Then I signed with the Orlando Renegades in the USFL,” Dom said. “Lee Corso was the coach. You talk about disorganized -- that was one disorganized team.”

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